The Supreme Court of India, on Tuesday, took action by issuing notices to both the Centre and the National Testing Agency (NTA) following a petition urging for the cancellation of this year’s National Entrance-cum-Eligibility Test (NEET) for Undergraduate Medical courses. The petition alleges a paper leak.
On the Supreme Court’s hearing on the NEET-UG 2024 exam, Advocate J. Sai Deepak says “Multiple petitions have been listed in the Court. Some of the petitions were filed before the declaration of results on the basis that there had been a leak of the paper itself. Notices have been issued in regard to those petitions. Our petition is slightly different. We represent Alakh Pandey, who has collected signatures from about 20,000 students which clearly shows that close to about 70 to 80 marks have been awarded in grace marks randomly to at least 1,500 students. We are challenging the arbitrary award of grace marks.
#WATCH | On the Supreme Court’s hearing on the NEET-UG 2024 exam, Advocate J. Sai Deepak says “Multiple petitions have been listed in the Court. Some of the petitions were filed before the declaration of results on the basis that there had been a leak of the paper itself.… pic.twitter.com/MIi4hoJBmt
— ANI (@ANI) June 11, 2024
The Physics Wallah coaching centre CEO Alakh Pandey says, “There was a hearing of the case particularly listed before the results. Here the students were demanding justification on the grounds of the paper leak only but not about the grace marks or anything else because it was listed on 1st June before the results. Our PIL will be listed tomorrow. It is regarding the paper leak as well as the grace marks, the transparencies of NTA and everything else.”
#WATCH | On the Supreme Court’s hearing on NEET-UG 2024 exam, Alakh Pandey, CEO, of Physics Wallah, says, “There was a hearing of the case particularly listed before the results. Here the students were demanding justification on the grounds of the paper leak only but not about… pic.twitter.com/rirn1YDJGi
— ANI (@ANI) June 11, 2024
Justices Vikram Nath and Ahsanuddin Amanullah, forming a vacation bench, scheduled further proceedings for July 8, seeking a comprehensive response from the National Testing Agency (NTA). Justice Amanullah, emphasized the importance of addressing the affected sanctity due to the alleged paper leak, urging prompt answers from the NTA’s representative regarding the timeline for response.
“Issue notice. In the meantime, the response will be filed by the National Testing Agency,” the bench observed in the order.
The NTA’s counsel suggested combining the current petition with an earlier one, already under the Supreme Court’s scrutiny since May 17, which is scheduled for a hearing on July 8. Advocate Mathews J Nedumpara, representing the petitioners, pushed for a stay on the counseling process, which the bench declined.
The bench proceeded by issuing notices and instructed the NTA to file a response in due time. The petition, initiated by Shivangi Mishra and others before the exam results were declared, questions the integrity of the May 5 exam and calls for its cancellation due to alleged irregularities.
While the Supreme Court had previously declined to halt the declaration of NEET-UG results on May 17, it remains open to considering petitions questioning the NTA’s decision to award grace marks to certain candidates. Despite these ongoing legal proceedings, the bench under Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud emphasized the necessity to proceed with the exam results, emphasizing the nationwide nature of the examination.
